On Monday, the Adamawa state Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, presided over the swearing-in ceremony of the 21 elected local government chairmen in the state, urging them to maintain the good work the party is already doing in the state.

Gov. Fintiri said it is a source of pride for the PDP and a testament to the good work the party is doing in the state to conduct elections three times in five years in office as Governor.

Gov. Fintiri made the remarks while delivering his remarks at the swearing-in ceremony of the elected 21 LGA chairmen in Yola, Adamawa state

Fintiri who urged the Local Council Chairmen to discharge their duties with a sense of responsibility and to maintain an open-door policy, also cautioned them against corruption.

“The people you just swore to serve today have become not only wiser but bolder. They will follow their money and ask questions, demanding answers. They expect performance and insist that every penny meant for their development is used properly,” Governor Fintiri warned the local government council chairmen.

“This means you must shun corruption and all corrupt practices. You must be accountable and responsible to the people as their leaders at all times,” he said.

Governor Fintiri maintained that his government had granted financial autonomy to the Local Government Councils long before the Supreme Court judgment.

“With the Supreme Court judgment, the debate over financial autonomy for local government councils is officially over, However, as a government in Adamawa State, we are five years ahead of the judgment.

“We conferred financial autonomy on the local government councils long before the Supreme Court made its recent pronouncement.”

Governor Fintiri called on the chairmen to use the resources at their disposal to improve the lives of the people. He also solicited the people’s support for the elected council chairmen, as his government was determined to provide them with the necessary assistance.

Speaking at the occasion, the Secretary to the State Government, Awwal Tukur, said the local government is the closest tier of government to the people hence Governor Fintiri’s commitment to strengthening it.

He stated that Governor Fintiri’s administration is making significant efforts to build and strengthen the local government structure and give power back to the people.

At the height of the event the Adamawa state Chief Judge, Justice Hapsat Abdulrahaman, administered the oath of office to the elected officials to mark the beginning of their term in office.

The elected officials include the following:
1. Demsa: Akham Jaloh (PDP)
2. Fufore: Shuaibu Babas (PDP)
3. Ganye: Farouk Mohammed (PDP)
4. Girei: Adamu Umaru Dala (PDP)
5. Gombi Mark Ishaya (PDP)
6. Guyuk: Barr. Kassah D. Shalom (PDP)
7. Hong: Inuwa Usman (PDP)
8. Jada: Salihu Mahmud Sa’o (PDP)
9. Lamurde: Bulus Daniel (PDP)
10. Madagali: Simon Musa Shashi (PDP)
11. Maiha: Abubakar Mustapha (PDP)
12. Mayo Belwa: Umar Nashong (PDP)
13. Michika: Dan Biyu Paul Tumba (PDP)
14. Mubi North: Musa Hassan (PDP)
15. Mubi South: Hamidu A Jingi (PDP)
16. Numan: Innocent Koto (PDP)
17. Shelleng: Abubakar Musa Abba (PDP)
18. Song: Idris Yahaya (PDP)
19. Toungo: Sulaiman Gangkuba (PDP)
20. Yola North: Jibril Ibrahim (PDP)
21. Yola South: Salihu Usman Malkohi (PDP)

At the time of filing this story, there were no clear details of figures on how the victory was won as the Adamawa state Independent Electoral Commission failed to provide details of figures of how the party polled to emerge victory and no clear location of collation centers or collation activities concerning the elections.

As of the time of filing this report, the commission’s Commissioner for Information and voter education and the information officer of the commission were yet to respond to the Daily Sun inquest into details of how the elections were won and where the election results were collated.

The Sun had earlier reported that despite the state commission’s claims to preparedness, Saturday’s election was marred by the late arrival of election officials and materials leading to acute voter apathy.

Daily Sun had on Saturday surveyed about five polling units in Karewa ward between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm to observe how voting was conducted.

Records showed that in State Polytechnic, units 017, 018, 019, 040, and 041 below, only a negligible number of voters came out to vote.

The Sun gathered that voters arrived at several polling units early to cast their votes but could not stay any longer as both election officials and materials were nowhere to be found as of 10:00 am.

The Sun reliably gathered that the delay was a result of a logistics catastrophe by the elections umpire, the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission (ADSIEC), who flopped at mobilising personnel and materials to their respective polling units.

Sources who spoke to Daily Sun from across local governments in the state say, as of 10 am, elections officials and materials were yet to arrive at most polling units in their local governments and most residents had defected to their farms by the time voting materials and officials arrived

In Karewa ward, voting was yet to commence in several polling units as of 10 am, and as of 1:30 pm, there were only a few voters who turned out.

The Sun records show that across five polling units in Karewa ward within Yola North which has over 2985 registered voters only 58 persons voted i.e. only about 2% of voters in that area voted as of 2 pm.

Figures from other local governments in the state suggest similar patterns of voter apathy persist within the state.

Details of voting as of 2:00 pm:
Unit 018
10 voted
750 Eligible Voters

Unit 019
16 voted
951 Eligible Voters

Unit 041
10 voted
262 Eligible Voters

Unit 40
15 people Voted
272 Eligible Voters

Unit 017
7 people Voted
750 Eligible Voters
(The Sun)